Learning opportunity: Effective storytelling to communicate about infodemics, their impact and how to contribute to infodemic management practice
Online workshop: 6-hours of dedicated class time over 2 days (3 hours each day)
In English or French or Spanish
Deadline for application: 8 August 2022 at 23:59 Geneva Switzerland time
Background
Through building storytelling skills, infodemic managers can become more effective communicators and explain to others the power of narratives that can mislead and cause harm online, talk about their infodemic management work and how stories can be used as a force for promoting public health. This is a free training for successful applicants who have been working in and responding to health misinformation, worked in the COVID-19 pandemic, and understand how information informs people’s personal health decisions. Successful applicants will be invited to the workshop and encouraged to share and record their stories of how health misinformation and information overload have affected their lives either professionally or personally during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their stories will be featured in a community storytelling project of the WHO infodemic manager community.
Purpose
WHO in partnership with The Story Collider want to build these skills for public health practitioners to promote science and health through more effective storytelling.
Why you should apply
The ability to tell a story effectively is a useful craft for anyone working in evidence-based public health where practitioners balance data and numbers with connecting on an emotional level with their audience. Storytelling skills are useful for advocacy, relationship building and becoming a more persuasive health and science communicator. By joining this storytelling workshop, successful applicants who work in health misinformation will more vividly and effectively describe their lived experiences and tell effective stories of how infodemics affected individuals, communities and health systems during COVID-19 pandemic.
- Participation in the workshops is free to participants.
- Workshops will be held in language-specific tracks for English, Spanish and French. Potential participants apply for a specific language track, for which they must have at least a working proficiency in to be able to tell a story in this language.
- A limited number of applicants will be selected based on eligibility criteria.
- Participation in the workshop is subject to signing a media release, so that participants can be part of the lived experience storytelling project.
Time commitment
6-hours of dedicated class time spread over 2 days, plus a nominal amount of asynchronous work.
Proposed session dates:
- English session 1
Tuesday 16 August and Thursday 18 August 2022, 15:00 Geneva Switzerland time
- English session 2
Tuesday 23 August and Thursday 25 August 2022, 09:00 Geneva Switzerland time
- French session
Tuesday 6 September and Thursday 8 September, 15:00 Geneva Switzerland time
- Spanish session
Tuesday 13 September and Thursday 15 September, 17:00 Geneva Switzerland time
Time zone converter: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html
Who can apply
WHO invites applications from experienced professionals from the fields of:
- Social and behaviour change communication
- Academia and research
- Healthcare sector
- Public Health
- Infodemic management
- Health service design and delivery
Criteria for eligibility:
- Have demonstrated experience in communicating effectively about science or health topics or addressing health misinformation
- Have work experience in COVID-19 response
How to apply
Interested applicants should fill out the application form.
Applications should be submitted by 8 August 2022 at 23:59 Geneva Switzerland time.